


keep my heart in your place

by mingyuzi



Category: SEVENTEEN (Band)
Genre: Established Relationship, Fluff, Love Confessions, M/M, no carpets were harmed in the making of this fic, they're just in love really
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-09
Updated: 2020-10-09
Packaged: 2021-03-06 17:35:58
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,434
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26392768
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/mingyuzi/pseuds/mingyuzi
Summary: The first time Joshua tells Minghao he loves him, he's sprawled halfway across their couch's arm and he's just stopped his boyfriend from drinking paint water, his wonderful, beautiful boyfriend who has paint all over his hands, and in his hair and, Joshua notices, even the back of his ear, and whose reaction to almost drinking paint water was togiggle, and Joshua isso so so in love with him.So he tells him.
Relationships: Hong Jisoo | Joshua/Xu Ming Hao | The8
Comments: 6
Kudos: 42





	keep my heart in your place

**Author's Note:**

> hello!! this is my first svt fic but also the first time i ever publish anything on ao3, so hopefully this is ok formatting wise! hope you enjoy these boys in love.
> 
> title from wonho's "losing you".

The first time Joshua tells Minghao he loves him, it's four months after they'd officially gotten together. Joshua is sitting on their living room couch and Minghao is on the floor, their coffee table pushed to the side to make space for his canvas and paints and an old sheet laid down that Joshua thinks was probably white, once, but you can barely see it anymore, swallowed by all the colourful dried paint stains. Minghao placed it down because he's thoughtful like that, and also because he knows Joshua would rather keep their carpet intact and it would certainly not survive Minghao's tendency to dip one of his brushes in paint and flick his wrist until the colour splashes across the canvas. 

Joshua looks at him work, watches as he runs a hand through his hair to push it away from his eyes, leaving the strands streaked with yellow. Joshua watches as Minghao reaches for his cup of tea without lifting his gaze up from where his brush is painting jagged yellow lines across a sea of black. Is watching, still, when Minghao picks up his cup of paint water instead and raises his arm to bring it to his lips.

He's reached over the arm of the couch and clasped a hand around Minghao's wrist before he's even realised, and when Minghao turns to look at him with a question in his eyes, Joshua pointedly looks down at the cup still inches away from Minghao's mouth. Minghao follows his gaze, his mouth forming a little _oh_ when he realises what he almost did and then, devastatingly, he _giggles_. 

The first time Joshua tells Minghao he loves him, he's sprawled halfway across their couch's arm and he's just stopped his boyfriend from drinking paint water, his wonderful, beautiful boyfriend who has paint all over his hands, and in his hair and, Joshua notices, even the back of his ear, and whose reaction to almost drinking paint water was to _giggle_ , and Joshua is _so so so in love with him_. 

So he tells him. 

  
  
"I love you," he says, and watches as Minghao sets the mug down and reaches over to gently cup Joshua's face in both his hands. Joshua can feel the paint smear across his cheekbones from where Minghao's thumbs are caressing them, and it's grounding -and so alike Minghao, to forget his hands are covered in paint in his haste to touch Joshua- and where Joshua's stomach had started churning when he realised he had let the confession slip, now it settles. 

It shouldn't be a big deal, they've lived together for a year now, been a couple for a third of that time, and Joshua had known he loved Minghao way, way before that and, really, saying it out loud shouldn't be a big deal. Except, for Joshua, it is. 

Joshua's love language had never really been words, was always meaningful gifts and comforting touches, handmade beaded bracelets for his friends and a kiss on the forehead for Minghao, when a project doesn't come out the way he wants it to.

The point is, this is not how Joshua was planning to tell his boyfriend he loves him for the first time. He was working up to it! These things should be romantic, in the middle of a home cooked candlelit dinner maybe, or in bed, after Joshua has mapped out every inch of Minghao’s body with his mouth, not in their living room while it smells like turpentine and Minghao is covered in paint and oh, God, what if he doesn’t say it back? What if it’s too fast? What if he fu- 

“I love you, too.” 

Joshua releases a breath he hadn’t realised he’d been holding and Minghao’s eyes light up with mirth in response, “Xīngān, did you really think I wouldn’t say it back?”. Joshua feels his lips twitch, both at the endearment and at the knowledge that Minghao can read him so easily, now. Minghao rests their foreheads together, says, “I’ve known I loved you for years, I was only waiting for you to catch up,” and Joshua feels like the butterflies in his stomach have taken flight and pierced through, frantically batting their wings and knocking against his ribcage, or, maybe that’s just his heartbeat. 

He goes a little cross-eyed trying to look at Minghao from their position and chuckles when he sees him doing the same. He pulls back a little and holds on to one of Minghao’s hands with both of his own, paint be damned. 

“I’m sorry it took me so long.” A smile, a flitting press of lips on his cheek and then,

“No, no, this is perfect, you’re perfect.” Joshua thinks the butterflies are here to wreak vengeance. 

* * *

  
  


A few hours later, after a much needed shower and an order for takeout, Joshua replays their previous conversation in his head. He turns to Minghao with a teasing smirk and eyes sparkling with mischief, “So, years huh?”. He sees Minghao’s eyebrows furrow and can practically hear the cogs in his head turning while he tries to figure out what Joshua means, before he connects the dots and promptly throws one of their couch’s pillows right on Joshua’s face. 

“Gē, you can’t seriously tell me you didn’t have the slightest clue that I was in love with you since freshman year?” Minghao says it so nonchalantly, as if he hasn’t just flipped Joshua’s entire world upside down.

“I mean, I- I had hoped but-” Joshua shakes his head, “I really had no idea.” Looking back on it, Joshua thinks maybe there were signs he should have paid more attention to, if only he hadn’t been so caught up in his own denial, they wouldn’t have wasted so much time. As if reading his thoughts (and honestly, Joshua is starting to seriously suspect he might just be able to), Minghao rushes to reassure him. “It’s fine, we’re here now, aren’t we? You were worth the wait.” There’s not much left for Joshua to do but press him into the couch and kiss him until they’re both breathless. 

* * *

Even later, when they’ve brushed their teeth and are lying in bed, Minghao’s arms tightly wrapped around Joshua’s waist, his breath even against the nape of Joshua’s neck, he finds the courage to whisper yet another confession.

“For what it’s worth, I think I’ve always loved you, too, it just took me until five hours ago to realise.” Joshua hears Minghao snort from behind him and hastily turns around to face him, “What the- I thought you were asleep! And what does” -Joshua emphatically pauses to snort in imitation of Minghao- “ _mean_?” Through a fit of giggles, Minghao manages to wheeze out a full sentence in response, “I’m sorry, I’m sorry, it’s just- xīngān, I know.” He must see the confusion in Joshua’s face so he continues, “It’s just, you may not have said it out loud but- you’ve shown it, even back then.”

Minghao shifts so he’s resting against the headboard with Joshua’s chest against his back, grabs Joshua’s left hand to bring it up to his lips and kisses every knuckle while gathering his thoughts, then rests both their hands, fingers intertwined, on Joshua’s chest, right over his heart. 

“I knew when you memorized my tea order and already had it on the table when we met at that coffee shop on campus, I knew that month I got horribly sick and you came over equipped with medicine and congee, I knew when I passed my art history final and you called Junhui for his Yu Xiang Rou Si recipe and you made it for me because you knew it’s my favourite.” Joshua can’t see Minghao but his next breath is so deep Joshua’s body moves along with it. “So, I knew. And I was in love with you, too, even since then.” Minghao presses a kiss into his hair and hums in thought. “Ah, hyung, you make it so easy, I think every person who has ever gotten to know you is at least a little bit in love with you.” 

Joshua makes a mortifying squealing noise in response to that and squeezes Minghao’s hand, presses on Minghao’s fingers until his palm is flat against Joshua’s heart then presses even harder, wills him to feel how hard it’s beating for him, whispers a mantra of _i love you_ s in the quiet of their bedroom, lets a tear or two or ten spill from his eyes. 

They fall asleep shortly after that, and Joshua dreams of paint stained hands and wine stained lips.

**Author's Note:**

> thank you for reading! kudos and comments are much, much appreciated.  
> i didn't find a way to mention it in the fic but in this universe, joshua works as a kindergarten teacher because this is a product of me self projecting!!  
> you can find me on my writing [twitter](https://twitter.com/mingyuzis) where i also posted a funky little moodboard for this fic ♡


End file.
